6 Nights in Nepal
by twistedxdark
Summary: Destination Truth! The team sets on another investigation for the yeti, but this time, something fights back. Josh has to make the biggest sacrifice of all, and may loose more then he intended. Friendships are torn, love is made, and lives are lost. R&R.
1. Prologue: Sick, Twisted Irony

**Disclaimer: **Sadly, I don't own Destination Truth or Joshua Gates. Anything in this story that doesn't belong to SyFy is probably mine, including places, characters, vehicles, ect. I just wrote this for fun. :)

**Summary: **The team sets out on another investigation for the yeti, but this time, something fights back. Josh has to make the biggest sacrifice of all, and may loose more then he intended. Friendships are torn, love is made, and lives are lost. R&R.

**Rating: **Strong T. [For: swearing, violence, monsters, strong sexual themes, and one psycho bitch.]

**Author's Note:** This story does contain spoilers for various episodes, so just be warned. :) Also, I'm really trying to keep this canon and realistic, but I do get a little "pair crazy" toward the middle, so just bear in mind I - a romantic writer attempting action - may have my weak moments. Other then that, just enjoy!

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**Prologue**

If Josh could have laughed, he would have.

The irony of his situation was so overbearing it was, in a sick, twisted way, funny. He was lying on his back in the icy snow, bleeding to death, yet he had never felt so alive. With every stitch Rex put into him, the pain sent him a little further into the bitter darkness he was in, and closer to the edge. And at the edge, he wanted to jump. He wanted to feel himself falling through the unknown just so he could see what was on the other side. His whole life he's been chasing the unknown, and here was his chance, but something was holding him back. Someone; his team. They were so much more then a team, they were his best friends, practically his family. He couldn't leave them, Erin especially. God, that night in Nepal rolled through his mind like an unmanned freight train. Her muffled whimpers still echoed through this head.

_"So..." He asked her, panting, as he laid back against his pillow. "Am I supposed to say I love you now?"  
_

The laugh she laughed when he said that rung through his head, giving him the strength to hold on. But then again, her answer broke his heart.

_"No..." She replied, something almost giddy sparking in her voice. "You don't have to say I love you. Nor' do you have to treat me any different then you usually do. Well, a little different, I guess. You could always open a door for me."_

_"Will do..." He chuckled lightly, gently grabbing her waist and pulling her on top of him. She laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck. __"Any other commands, mistress?"_

_"I'm sure I can think of something." She purred as his lips found their way to her neck._

As that played through his head, he wanted to jump. She obviously didn't care for him the way he cared for her. Then again, he didn't love her either, did he? His mind reeled, but he tried to focus on one thing at a time; and right now, that was surviving. He could faintly hear Erin now, along with the rest of Team Truth, begging him to be alright. To open his eyes, to say something, to show any sign of life. Josh had a choice to make now; to open his eyes and continue on, or jump off the imaginary ledge into the unknown he's wanted for so long. In death, there is no reason, nothing is cruel or kind. Just peace and rest; something he needed so desperately. Erin's voice was coming in clearer now, and so was Rex's. Maybe he was coming out of it, maybe he had just leapt off that edge. He wasn't sure of anything anymore.

"Easy Josh..." He heard Rex say, along with the feeling of hands of his chest. The hands were strong, large; they must have belonged to Gabe. "I'm almost done."

Josh didn't feel himself jerking up and down with each stitch, but he must have been, right? Why else would Rex say that? That also explains Gabe's hands on his chest, and Erin's muffled cries in the background. He could feel Vanessa holding his hand, telling him everything would be ok, but the tone in her voice was weak. She knew he wasn't going to make it through this. Then, there was a sudden weight on his shoulder; a head. Erin's head. He could feel her tears running down his bare shoulder.

"Please Josh..." She begged lightly. "Please be alright... I..I- Pleeassee."

He could feel her body quivering from the fear and cold, she was in hysterics. There was something she wasn't telling him, something everyone else wasn't telling him. What the hell was going on?

In that moment, Josh made his decision. He looked down over the ledge, into even more of a black inkyness, took a deep breath and turned around. He used up most of his strength opening his eyes, and the rest of it speaking.

"Ryder..." He muttered as he coughed up blood. "You..worry..to much."

That nearly took it all out of him, but he fought on. The next voice he heard wasn't from his team members, the voice wasn't even human. It was deep screech that echoed over the barren peaks, causing no one to move or breath. After a few moments Bicha' spoke up in a voice that registered as stunned, yet terrified.

"Gabe, give me the fucking gun..."


	2. Chapter 1: A Short Phone Call

**Authors Note:** Sorry for the shortness, I may add a little more. :) Hope you like it, you guys! And so sorry for the long wait, I had finals. -_-'

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**Chapter 1**

A short phone call. That's how this whole disaster happened: with a short phone call on a flight to Nepal, Asia.

Joshua Gates leaned back in his seat, staring out the window of the plane into the cold night, anticipating his guide's voice to come through on the other end of the phone. A smooth, seductive Australian voice almost always laced with rage and an overwhelming sense of urgency. He didn't want to talk to her, nor' did he want to see her, but this wasn't a vacation, and she wasn't his friend. He was taking a team of seven other paranormal investigators into the Himalayan mountains in search of the infamous Yeti, with a woman he used to run with five years prior serving as their guide. Fearless. Reckless. Ruthless. She was perfect for the job. After six rings, he deiced, he'd hang up the phone and try again later. He desperately hoped he wouldn't have to talk to her until later, but after four seemingly long rings, she answered.

"Hello?" Dr. Dawn Hudson asked, her voice the same as it was five years ago. Although now, it seemed a little angrier: not a good quality for an ex soldier. After eight years in war the Archeologist didn't return to teaching, but treasure hunting.

His voice was quiet. "Dawn? It's Josh. We still on?"

"You know the time and place." She said. As she spoke Josh could see her face in his mind; steel gray eyes, long crimson hair, two pierced eyebrows, and a long, deep scar that ran from above her left eyebrow to just below her chin. He could still hear her screaming as she clutched her bleeding face;_ "Shoot him Josh! Right between the eyes! Now dammit! This place is gonna' blow!" _ He shook his head lightly, trying to forgot those memories. To forgot her.

"So, I'll see you there?"

"You sound apprehensive darling. I'm sitting in the bar now. See you in a few."

Dawn hung up the phone, leaving Josh to him lonesome. He absolutely hated when she called him "darling." But then again, some things never change. He could once again see a flash of her in his head; a muscular frame sitting on a barstool, cigarette in her mouth and Vodka in her hand, with black combat boots tucked into cargo pants, and a light gray military jacket. He sighed and leaned his head back against the seat, exhausted, before checking his watch. It was almost four in the morning, and the plane was scheduled to land in about an hour.

"Hey Gabe?" He asked, turning around partially in his seat.

Gaberiel Copeland was kicked back with his legs crossed in a pair of jeans and a fitting black T-shirt - contrasting Josh's cargo pants and button up shirt heavily. His blonde and brown hair was pulled up into a bun, and he was fiddling with his iPhone, one hand playing with the hoop in his upper cartilage.

"Yeah?" He asked, looking up with dark brown eyes. "Could you give me that Dvd you and Mike made? I wanna' watch it, although I'm sure I'll regret it." He chuckled. Gabe leaned forward and handed him the light blue CD marked "DT Season 4.5!", then grinned.

"Me and Rex put a little surprise on there for you!"

"What is this?" He said with a small laugh, opening his laptop and popping the disk in.

Gabe quickly moved from his seat to Josh's side. "Me and a couple of the guys made a disk of all the footage we couldn't use because it was either a) pointless, b) vulgar, or c) absolutely inappropriate. This bad boy could be rated X."

"X? Did you put porn on this or something?"

Gabe laughed out loud and shook his head. "You aren't getting lucky anytime soon Josh. Don't worry."

"And how would you know? Maybe I met someone."

He raised his eyebrow as Josh's face blushed red. For a man in his early thirties, any reference to sex sure got him embarrassed. "Naming your right hand doesn't count."

"I resent that comment."

"That's what I though." He smirked, giving him a smug look. Josh yawned lightly. Glancing outside he could see dawn breaking over the white and pastel blue peaks of the Himalayan mountains. He closed the laptop and slipped it back into his black backpack.

"I'll watch it later." He said, rubbing his itching and irritated eye. There was something about Josh that didn't belong in the mountains, like the contrast of his unbelievably green eyes against the pale white and grays.

Gabe smirked once more before returning to his seat. "Suit yourself."

He returned to his seat as the plane reached the Nepalese airport; nestled between the Himalayas. Josh decided he'd listen to his iPod for the last twenty minutes of the flight, just to pass the time. For some reason, this flight felt unusually long. Putting in the white earbuds, he suddenly heard lyrics already playing. He must have forgot to end the song when he last listened.

_I'll Find Repose In New Ways, though I haven't slept in two days; 'cause Cold Nostalgia chills me to the bone. But drenched in vanilla twilight, I'll sit on the front porch all night - waist deep in thought cause' when I think of you I don't feel so alone, I don't feel so alone..._

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Team Truth stood in the shadow of the old bar; if you could even call it that. The entire building, though large, was made entirely of wood. It had to be at least thirty years old. The words "Mikenta Tavern" was scrawled in white paint across the front. Josh, standing at the front of the group, shouldered his backpack.

"Well, this is the place." He said dryly, an anxious nausea coming on.

The team's medic, Rex Williams, came up beside Josh. "Are you sure?"

"Positive."

Without another word, he lead his team into the old tavern. Inside there was a large fireplace surrounded by the bar, with two young women serving up drinks. The place, sparsely populated with wooden tables and chairs, was mostly deserted. A soft country song was playing, and Dawn was sitting alone, just like Josh imaged, drinking a bottle of Vodka. She was even dressed the same way, save' for a heavier coat. Taking a deep breath, Josh walked over to her and sat down on the barstool beside her.

"Hello Dawn." He said, a little to formally. The rest of Team Truth sat at a table nearby, ordering themselves some drinks.

"Hello love," Dawn turned to face him. She put her drink on the bar and took her cigarette out of her mouth, holding it lightly in her right hand. "Its good to see you again."

All he could come up with to say was; "Same here."

"Josh, what is wrong with you. I haven't side hide nor' hair of you for five fucking years and all you have to say to me is 'same here'? God, your a dick, you know that?"

"Well what the hell do you want me to do? Do a back flip for a woman who left me for dead?"

"I gave you a choice, Joshua, I didn't leave you. I said you could come with me, or walk away. You walked away."

"No. You wanted me to murder._ Murder_! I refused, so you pulled a gun me, and told me to scram or you'd shoot."

"I'm a treasure hunter, darling. Have you forgotten? Trouble follows me everywhere I go, and you were simply in the way."

Josh chuckled humorlessly. "Yeah, you defiantly look like a woman who causes trouble."

"I am." She laughed stiffly. "So what's the plan?"

"First, let me introduce you Team Truth." He said, getting up and leading her over to the table. The others looked up, the expressions on their faces unreadable, as they caught sight of Josh's "friend."

This was going to be a long investigation.


End file.
